Multistory buildings and walls thereof

ABSTRACT

A multistory building forming quarters for residential or commercial purposes. The multistory structure includes a nondisposable frame and floor slab portion and a disposable panel and enclosure portion. The non-disposable portion is composed of a series of floor slabs situated at the various levels of the several stories of the structure and a plurality of supporting columns carrying the floor slabs, the structure having at ground level a given configuration which may be substantially repeated by the several floor slabs situated at the several stories above ground level. The disposable panel and enclosure portion forms the exterior wall structure of the building and defines the interior rooms thereof. Several hollow utility shafts extend upwardly through the several slabs and prefabricated kitchen and bathroom units are grouped adjacent to the utility shafts to be serviced thereby, these units being preferably of a prefabricated, plug-in type. The disposable enclosure and panel portion is made up of a plurality of panels each of which is formed with a peripheral groove so that panels situated in a common plane will have the grooves thereof communicating with each other and these grooves will also extend along the floors and ceilings of the spaces defined between a pair of successive floor slabs. These grooves are filled at the site with a plastic filler which sets to form a rigid wall structure from the several panels.

United States Patent 1 Danin 1 Jan. 16, 1973 [54] MULTISTORY BUILDINGS AND WALLS THEREOF [76] Inventor: Alex Danin, 1080 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY. 10605 [22] Filed: Sept. 28, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 76,067

[52] US. Cl. ..52/27, 52/220, 52/236, 52/259 [51] Int. Cl. ..E04f 19/08, 1304f 17/08 [58] Field of Search ..52/259, 236, 234, 79, 27, 30, 52/586, 220, 221

Primary ExaminerPrice C. Faw, Jr. Attorney-Steinberg & Blake [57] ABSTRACT A multistory building forming quarters for residential or commercial purposes. The multistory structure includes a non-disposable frame and floor slab portion and a disposable panel and enclosure portion. The non-disposable portion is composed of a series of floor slabs situated at the various levels of the several stories of the structure and a plurality of supporting columns carrying the floor slabs, the structure having at ground level a given configuration which may be substantially repeated by the several floor slabs situated at the several stories above ground level. The disposable panel and enclosure portion forms the exterior wall structure of the building and defines the interior rooms thereof. Several hollow utility shafts extend upwardly through the several slabs and prefabricated kitchen and bathroom units are grouped adjacent to the utility shafts to be serviced thereby, these units being preferably of a prefabricated, plug-in type. The disposable enclosure and panel portion is made up of a plurality of panels each of which is formed with a peripheral groove so that panels situated in a common plane will have the grooves thereof communicating with each other and these grooves will also extend along the floors and ceilings of the spaces defined between a pair of successive floor slabs. These grooves are filled at the site with a plastic filler which sets to form a rigid wall structure from the several panels.

14 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures Pmmmmms 3.710.521

SHEEI 1 OF 8 FIG./

INVESTOR. ALEX DANIN PATENTEU JAN 16 I975 SHEET 2 [1F 8 m u u DMD D n D m u u U u u 06 6 L a W H la L E.\ TOR ALEX DANIN ATTORNEYS PATENIEDJAM 16 1973 SHEET 3 BF 8 FIG.5

INVENTOR. ALEX DANIN PATENTEDJAH 16 I973 3.710.521

sum 5 OF 8 INVENTOR. ALEX DANIN BY V PATENTEDJM 16 I973 SHEU 7 BF 8 LJVENTOR. ALEX DANIN PATENTEDJAH 16 ms SHEET 8 0F 8 FlG./2

FIG/4 FIG/5 ALEX DANIN MULTISTORY BUILDINGS AND WALLS THEREOF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to buildings.

In particular, the present invention relates to multistory buildings generally of substantial size for forming a plurality of living units either for commercial or residential purposes and capable of housing a relatively large number of tenants or co-owners.

It is anticipated that in the future a large amount of construction will be required particularly in fields such as middle and low income housing and urban renewal. Presently known structures and methods are incapable of fulfilling the requirements presented by such structures.

A large body of opinion presents the position that prefabrication must necessarily play a large part of future building structures and methods, but up to the present time prefabrication has been used only to a limited extent. A recent development in the field of prefabrication has been the formation of block structures forming either a complete unit or enclosing several rooms. While this type of construction has indeed achieved some degree of success because of a reduction of on-site construction time, nevertheless the cost per unit volume remains undesirably high.

One of the drawbacks of prefabricated block type of construction, even if the costs thereof can be reduced in the future, resides in the repetitive nature of the structure and the inclusion of redundant structural elements therein, preventing exercise of individuality in a building and instead forming a bleak, monotonous aspect to communities provided with such structures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide building structures and methods which will avoid the above drawbacks.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide structures capable of fulfilling future needs at relatively low cost.

Also it is an object of the invention to provide structures capable of fulfilling future needs without restricting the creative efforts of architects to provide different building structures with distinctive shapes greatly enhancing the variety of appearance of the building structures of a given community and providing each building with its own individual character.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a building structure and method which takes advantage ofprefabricated components.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to utilize components which can be prefabricated at an on-site location as easily as at an off-site plant.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a construction of the above general type which lends itself to unique financing in a manner which reduces tremendously the burden assumed by the backers of the building structures.

According to the invention the multistory building structure includes a non-disposable frame and floor slab portion and a disposable enclosure and panel portion. The non-disposable frame and floor slab portion is composed simply of flat open concrete floor slabs any desired number of which may be arranged one above the other at different levels of the several stories of the buildings, and a plurality of supporting columns which carry the floor slabs. The configuration of the floor structure at ground level can be substantially repeated by each of the several floor slabs at elevations above ground level so that in effect this non-disposable frame and floor slab portion of the mul'tistory building structure of the invention forms a part of the real estate with each floor slab simply providing a substantial repetition of the area of the structure at ground level. The disposable enclosure and panel portion of the building may be considered as being less permanent than the non-disposable portion which takes on the character of the real estate itself, and this disposable portion is made up of panels forming the exterior of the building as well as defining interior rooms and corridors thereof. The building also includes a plurality of vertically extending hollow utilities shafts for directing the utilities to the several levels with the structure also including at each of the levels groupings of prefabricated bathroom and kitchen units situated adjacent the utilities shafts to be serviced thereby.

According to one of the features of the invention, the walls are formed by series of panels each of which is formed with a peripheral groove, so that when these panels are situated in a common plane extending between successive floor slabs, they will form walls for rooms or exterior walls of the building structure. The communication between the peripheral grooves of the successive panels enables them to be filled on-site, according to a method of the invention, with a suitable plastic filler which upon setting forms a rigid wall structure from the several panels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. I is a schematic front elevation of a multistory structure according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a typical floor slab;

FIG. 3 shows a possible variation in the floor slab configuration;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of a typical cross section of the building structure of the invention showing parts of several floor slabs arranged one above the other as well as illustrating further details;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view fragmentarily illustrating a typical floor plan for the building of the invention at any one of the several stories thereof;

FIG. 6 shows part of a structure of FlG. 5 at larger scale for illustrating further details;

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the system for distributing heat to the several living quarters at each of showing FIG. 12 is an elevation of a panel structure according to the invention;

FIG. 13 is an end view of the structure of FIG. 12 as seen from the right of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a transverse section taken along line 14- 14 of FIG. 12 in the direction of the arrows and showing further details of the structure of FIGS. 12 and 13;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken along line 15--15 of FIG. 12 in the direction of the arrows and showing part of the panel structure before the peripheral groove thereof is filled with plastic;

FIG. 16 is a sectional plan view taken along line 16 16 of FIG. 12 in the direction of the arrows and illustrating how adjoining panels have their communicating grooves filled with a common body of plastic;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary schematic sectional plan illustrating the manner in which mutually perpendicular panels are assembled; and

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary sectional plan illustrating a variation of the arrangement shown in FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, there is schematically represented therein one possible multistory structure 20 having the features of the present invention. This multistory structure 20 of the invention includes a nondisposable frame and floor slab portion composed of several floor slabs 22 situated one above the other and supporting columns 24 which carry the floor slabs and which form with the slabs 22 the non-disposable frame and floor slab portion of the multistory structure 20. It is to be noted that with this construction the several floor slabs 22 substantially repeat the configuration of the structure 20 at ground level 26, so that in effect each slab 22 is a repetition of the area of the structure at the ground level 26. In the actual structure there may in fact be a lower slab at the bottom of the series of slabs situated at the ground level 26, or any desired foundation and basement structure may be provided. However, one of the important features of the invention resides in the repetition of the area at ground level from one floor slab 22 to the next.

The multistory structure 20 also includes a disposable enclosure and panel portion including panels 28 which are visible in FIG. 1 and which are described in greater detail below. As is apparent from FIG. 1, the roof structure 30 can be different from the structure therebeneath taking the form, for example, of a suitable fence made up of a railing 32 and standards 34 arranged along the periphery of the uppermost slab 22 and enclosing an area at the very top of the building which may be used for any desired purposes. Also, at the lowermost level the height of the first slab 22 above ground level 26 may be somewhat higher from the level 26 than the distance between the successive slabs 22 higher than the first one above ground level.

A typical slab 22 is illustrated in plan in FIG. 2. For the sake of illustration it has a simple rectangular outline. The several slabs 22 are made of concrete of suitable thickness which is also suitably reinforced. FIG. 2 illustrates the arrangement of the columns 24 situated both at the exterior and interior of the outline of the building, so that each slab 22 is adequately supported by the columns. In the illustrated example the slab 22 at each story is formed with a suitable opening 36 at each end to define a stairwell for accommodating stairs progressing vertically between the several stories. Also FIG. 2 shows openings 38 for utility shafts. These are hollow vertically extending enclosures which serve to house pipes and the like for electricity, water, heat, and the like. Furthermore, there is illustrated in the example of FIG. 2 a substantially centrally arranged elevator shaft 40 for a pair of elevators. It will be noted that there are a pair of interior columns 24a situated out of the line of the other columns. These columns illustrate the flexibility in the possible locations of the columns for arranging them for various purposes such as, for example, in order to accommodate special service areas or the like in the floor plan.

FIG. 3 shows a floor slab 22 of a different outline. The purpose of FIG. 3 is to demonstrate the possibility of departing from the rigorous rectangular outline of FIG. 2. With arrangements as shown in FIG. 3 it is possible to lend a wide variety of outlines to the building although it retains its basically rectangular configuration. Of course, instead of providing several slabs 22' of the same configuration as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to provide a building where although all of the slabs have basically the same rectangular outline some of them will have a periphery as shown in FIG. 3 while others may have a periphery as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, certain striking effects can be achieved by providing some outer exterior building columns which extend through several stories before engaging a slab such as the slab 22. In other words certain columns 24 at the exterior of the building would extend upwardly through the hollow elongated notches 42 shown in FIG. 3, and a slab as shown in FIG. 2 may be located at every fourth or sixth level, for example, while the columns which engage the slab 22 still reliably support the latter. Thus some idea of the variety of structures possible with the invention is apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3. As an example of the size of building, the distance a shown in FIG. 2 from one supporting column to the next may be on the order of 12 feet, providing at the exterior of the building 12 foot bays.

FIG. 4 shows a typical vertical section of the building of the invention. Thus, FIG. 4 shows on a scale larger than FIG. 1 several of the slabs 22 together with the exterior supporting column 24. It is to be noted that these columns also may be made of concrete or of suitable beams embedded in concrete. Wall panels 28 situated between the several slabs 22 are also indicated in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows how the hollow utility shafts 38 extend vertically through the building. An elongated central corridor 44 extends from one end of each story to the other along the line between the utility shafts 38, so that on each floor slab one end of the public central corridor 44 starts at one stairwell 36 and the other end thereof terminates at the other stairwell 36. Of course, the stairwells may be located at any other desired parts of the structure.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates at the several floor levels bathroom units 48 located directly next to the utility shafts 38 to be serviced thereby. There is also schematically represented in FIG. 4 a fan coil heating unit 50 together with a hot air duct 52, so that such heating units 50 also receiving their heating energy from components in the utility shafts 38 will supply hot air to be delivered through the hot air ducts 52 into the several living quarters which may be commercial or residential, although residential quarters are illustrated in the particular example shown in the drawings and described below.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the arrangement of the exterior enclosure panels 28 and interior panels 54 of the disposable portion of the structure is illustrated in greater detail. Thus, certain inner panels 54 will define the elongated public corridor 44 extending between the stairwells 36. The several interior panels 54 will define the various bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms, designated by the symbols BR, LR, DR in FIG. 5. Various closets CL are illustrated as well as powder rooms PR, bathrooms B, and kitchens K. Foyers F are illustrated. Opposite the elevators situated in the elevator shaft 40 are a pair of enclosures one forming a janitor closet 58 and the other forming an incinerating area 60 to which the occupants may bring materials to be incinerated.

It will be noted that each of the corner apartments shown at the left in FIG. 1 includes not only a foyer but also a communicating living room and dining room together with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a powder room, and a bathroom. These apartments end at the panels 62 and the next apartment will have on one side simply a bedroom and living room while on the other side there is a foyer in addition to a bedroom and living room. These apartment arrangements differ somewhat in a manner shown on the opposite sides of the corridor 44, so that a succession of relatively small and relatively large apartments may be accommodated on each floor slab along the lines represented in FIG. 5. It is to be understood that initially each floor slab is a completely open uninterrupted space having only the columns and utility shafts extending between the successive floor slabs, and this vast open space at each level can be subdivided in any desired manner with the panels 28 and 54. It is particularly to be noted from FIG. 5 how the several kitchen and bathroom units K,B are clustered in groupings around the utility shafts 38. FIG. 5 also shows in dot-dash lines the possibility of situating the balconies 64 at desired locations along the peripheral region of each slab 22.

FIG. 6 illustrates at a scale larger than FIG. 5 details of part of the arrangement shown in FIG. 5. Thus FIG. 6 illustrates fragmentarily at its upper left portion part of the left stairwell 36 of FIG. 5. It will be noted that the arrangement of the internal panels 54 correspond to that illustrated in FIG. 5 all the way up to the separating panel 62 which forms the inner wall of a closet. Along the corridor 44 there are removable panels 66 giving access to the interior of the utility shaft 38. The bathroom, powder room or toilet and kitchen units are preferably prefabricated and of the plug-in type so that as complete separate units they can be installed directly next to the utility shaft as part of the procedure in constructing the building according to the invention. As is apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of apartments communicate at their kitchens, bathrooms, powder rooms and the like with a single utility shaft 38, so that from a single utility shaft 38 which is accessible at the corridor 44, it is possible to carry out operations in connection with a plurality of apartments. FIG. 6 in particular illustrates how the doors are arranged for the several closets and rooms. It is to be noted that between each of the rooms there are a plurality of panels 54, these panels being of a given length and then joined in edge-to-edge relation in a manner indicated in FIG. 6. Of course, the outer panels 28 will have suitable windows permitting light to enter into the various rooms illustrated. The kitchen units are of course provided with counter space and space for various appliances, as schematically represented. FIG. 6 also illustrates the entrance door 68 through which the component of the apartment fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 6 has access into the apartment.

FIG. 7 shows a slab 22 schematically, along the lines illustrated in FIG. 2. However, in FIG. 7 there is a designation of how the several utility shafts 38 deliver heat to the several heating units for the several apartments or living quarters indicated in FIG. 5. Thus, from each utility shaft 38 there extends suitable electrical lines or the like for heating elements of the units 50 referred to above in connection with FIG. 4. These units are fan coil units having coils heated electrically or through the supply of steam or hot water thereto, depending upon the particular system which is used. A fan provides a stream of air over the heated coils so as to heat the air, and then this air is delivered through the ducts 52 into the several apartments or the like, the arrangement of the ducts being illustrated in FIG. 7 for the particular example illustrated.

FIG. 8 also shows the hollow utility shafts 38. These shafts accommodate in their interior electrical conduits which communicate with additional conduits 70 and 72 embedded in each slab. Thus, the laterally extending conduits 70 extend from the utility shafts 38 to the conduit 72, and the latter conduits 72 are embedded in each slab along the periphery thereof so that a perimetric electrical distribution system is achieved with an electrical system extending along the entire periphery of each story and giving in this way also the possibility of floor outlets of the periphery of each slab and through-wall air conditioning units. FIG. 8 schematically represents several outlets 74 which may be arranged along the conduit 72 so as to provide floor sockets for receiving electrical cords of various appliances in the various living quarters.

In the typical section fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 9, there are shown conduits 76 extending along the interior of a utility shaft 38 and communicating through the additional conduits 78 with the fan coil heating unit 50 situated in a space over the prefabricated bathroom unit B illustrated in FIG. 9. This unit is completed away from the site and is installed as a complete unit, forming a plug-in type of unit, and the same is true of the kitchen units. Thus, the fan coil heating unit 50 may be supplied either with electrical current through conductors in the conduits 76 and 78 or with steam or hot water also directed through these conduits. The utility shaft 38 will of course have pipes for water as well as electricity to service the various bathrooms and kitchens. The heater 50 will of course direct heat to the hot air outlet 52. At the lower portion of FIG. 9 there is shown a duct work 52 for delivering hot air to a room at the left lower portion of FIG. 9, and beneath this unit 52 there may be a false ceiling 80. Also FIG. 9 illustrates how the electrical conduit 70 extends along the floor, embedded in one of the slabs 22. The exterior panels 28 behind the columns 24, as shown in FIG. 9,

accommodate optional air conditioning units 82 which may extend through the exterior walls, and from the electrical conduits 72 embedded in the slabs it is also possible to have a source of energy for an optional electrical heater 84.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is a perspective illustration of the manner in which the plug-in type of prefabricated bathroom units and kitchen units are arranged around a utility shaft 38. FIG. 10 also shows how the heater units 50 are arranged at each utility shaft 38 and operatively connected with the duct work 52 through which the hot air is delivered. The arrangement of the kitchens K and bathrooms B indicated in FIG. 10 is of course repeated at each level and at the several utility shafts.

FIG. 11 shows in a perspective illustration the electrical baseboard heaters 84 extending along the interior of the outer panels 28, FIG. 11 also illustrating how an air conditioning unit 82 extends to the exterior of the building. These units 82, 84, or similar electrical units, are adapted to be connected to floor outlets which are electrically connected with electrical conductors which form the slab-embedded perimetric electrical distribution arrangement referred to above in connection with FIG. 8. The panels 28 of FIG. 11 include transparent window portions situated directly above unit 82 at the left panel in FIG. 11 and at the same parts of other panels which carry windows.

Referring to FIG. 12, an inner panel 54 is illustrated therein. This panel extends vertically between a pair of slabs 22 one of which is fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 14. As is apparent from FIG. 15, each panel 54 is formed of an inner plastic sheet 86 made of any suitable substantially rigid plastic material and sandwiched between a pair of outer sheets 88 which may be made of gypsum, for example. These outer sheets 88 extend beyond the peripheral edge of the inner sheet 86 to form an endless peripheral groove 90 extending all the way around each panel. For the sake of clarity, it is assumed that the panel 54 at section line 15-15 does not have any filler situated in the peripheral groove 90. However, it will be noted that in the example illustrated this groove is lined with a channel-shaped metal liner 92. Along its top edge the panel 54 has also the liner 92 as well as outer extensions 94 of reversed channel configuration extending along the upper edges of the outer sheets 88 of each panel to lend rigidity thereto. In order to determine the location of the vertical panels 54, aligning members 96 are joined to the slabs 22 as shown in FIG. 14, these members being received in the hollow grooves of the panels for determining the location thereof. Similar aligning or locating members 96 are situated at the top surfaces of each slab to be received in the lower groove.

As is particularly apparent from FIGS. 12 and I3, inner panels 54 may each be formed with a pair of elongated hollow bores 98 capable of accommodating suitable hollow pipes, for example, extending horizontally through the panel at its inner sheet component 86. These conduits can house electrical conductors electrically connected directly with the electrical supply conduits in the utility shafts 38. At the junction between selected panels 54 it is also possible to situate optional electrical boxes 100. Only inner panels 54 are provided with the bores 98 to receive the electrical conduits. The

outer panels 28 are not provided with this construction. However, they may carry the electrical heaters or airconditioning units which are then capable of being connected to floor outlets, as pointed out above.

The pipes which house the conductors communicate fluid-tightly with each other at the junctions between the several panels 54, and this communication is such that the peripheral grooves freely communicate with each other, without interruption all around the panels, so that the pair of grooves 90 at the vertical abutting edges of a pair of panels will have an uninterrupted communication throughout the entire height of the abutting panels even where the pipes 98 extend across the junction between a pair of panels.

For example FIG. 16 shows how a pair of panels 28a and 28b butt against each other, so that the liners 92 define the grooves which communicate with each other at the panels which are located in the same plane in the manner shown in FIG. 16. Any aligning or locating member 96 is situated at the bottom of the grooves without however interrupting the communication of the grooves throughout the entire peripheral lengths of the panels along the entire length of the grooves. With this arrangement it is possible, after providing a relatively small opening giving access into one of the peripheral grooves, to inject into the latter a foam plastic such as ingredients which will expand and set to form a relatively rigid polyurethane uniting all of the several panels together and forming a rigid wall structure therefrom. Thus according to the method of the invention the particular panels of the invention shown in FIGS. 12-16 can be combined into a single unitary wall structure which is rigid and strong simply by injecting the foam plastic at a suitable location into one of the grooves of one of the panels. Because these grooves provide a continuous elongated hollow space communicating without interruption from one panel to the next the injecting locations need not be at each panel and can have a greater distribution with the plastic foam injected at suitably selected locations to completely fill the peripheral grooves forming connecting bodies rigidly interconnecting the several panels with what amounts to a series of rings integrally joined together and extending into the peripheral grooves of the panels for fixing them to each other.

In FIG. 17 there is a schematic representation of an outer wall panel 28 and an inner parallel panel 54 with a pair of additional panels 54 which extend perpendicularly with respect to the right panel 54 of FIG. 17 and the outer panel 28. Thus these panels 54 of FIG. 17 will define an inner wall while the right panel 54 of FIG. I7 will define an inner wall or part of the interior corridor. In any event these panels 54 may have the liners 92 provided with the edge-reinforcing components 94 as described above in connection with FIG. 14. The

, peripheral grooves will still communicate with each interior surface of the outer panel 28 and the interior surface of the right panel 54 shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 18 simply shows a variation of the structure of FIG. 16 according to which panels 28a and 28b may have the liners 92 provided with the reinforcing channels 94. Otherwise this construction is the same as that described above.

As is apparent from the above description, the com struction of a structure according to the invention will first involve the setting up of the columns and slabs which form the nomdisposable frame and floor slab portion of the structure. This portion consists only of the columns and floor slabs and may be considered as real estate since it is so intimately connected with the land and since the several slabs simply multiply the area of land available at ground level. Furthermore, these slabs and columns which form the non-disposable portion of the building structure are the most permanent from the standpoint of withstanding aging and ravages of the seasons as well as time. Thus long after other parts of the building may deteriorate and require replacement or repair, the floor slabs and columns will still be standing so that there is considerable basis for viewing this part of the structure as actually real property forming an extension of the land itself.

The remaining portion of the building structure, namely the panels, the various prefabricated bathroom and kitchen units, the elevators, the utility shafts, and all of the other components are less permanent and thus form what may be considered as the disposable part of the structure.

As a result it becomes feasible to provide different mortgaging arrangements for these different portions where the non-disposable portion can have a mortgage with a term of 80 years, for example, with this portion being considered as part of the land itself, so that it forms part of the land costs. The remaining structure would then have a mortgage of a shorter term, but in this way the debt involved in the latter mortgage would be far less.

After the non-disposable portion of the building has been erected then of course the disposable portion including the panels and various utilities can be connected, including the plug-in type of prefabricated bathrooms and kitchens.

This construction enables the architect to use a considerable amount of individuality in the design of the building. The exterior surfaces of the slabs and columns as well as the exterior surfaces of the outer wall panels 28 can be finished in any desired manner. When the floor slabs are set up they form completely open areas which can be subdivided in any desired manner allowing great flexibility in planning. The individual tenant can change his apartment layout at minimum expense whenever required. Moreover, the structure described above fulfills various fireproofing and acoustical requirements with a minimum number of different types of components.

It is anticipated that with a structure as described above approximately 40 percent of the time involved in conventional building structures will be saved. Less skilled labor can be used and more efficient factory methods can be utilized in the manufacture of a large part of the components. It is anticipated that the price of construction will be decreased by approximately percent, not including the savings resulting from the shortened time required for construction.

Furthermore, minimum shipping costs are involved inasmuch as the components can be stacked without any hollow spaces during shipment.

The foam used to fill the peripheral grooves in the panels can be a urea-formaldehyde foam which will foam into and fill all of the spaces and will then set so as to form the required soundproofing as well as rigid con nection between the components.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. In a multistory structure, a non-disposable frame and floor slabs portion, and a disposable partitions and enclosure portion, said non-disposable portion including a series of floor slabs located at different elevations, respectively corresponding to the stories of the structure and also including a plurality of supporting columns carrying said slabs, while said disposable portion includes exterior wall panels forming the exterior of the structure, and interior partition panels defining rooms, said exterior and interior panels being removable and replaceable by other exterior and interior panels which may be situated differently from the removed panels, while said non-disposable portion remains a permanent part of the structure, whereby the appearance and layout of the structure can be changed and the panels can be replaced as required for maintenance purposes, without requiring alteration of the non-disposable portion, a plurality of hollow utilities shafts extending upwardly through said slabs, the rooms which form part of said disposable portion forming on each slab a plurality of apartments including kitchens and toilets grouped adjacent to said utilities shafts, the latter enclosing heat, electrical, and water supply means communicating with said kitchens and toilets for servicing the latter, said interior partition panels defining, in part, elongated corridors at the exterior of the rooms, and said utilities shafts being located directly next to said corridors to be accessible at said corridors for servicing purposes, each utilities shaft communicating with the kitchens and toilets of a plurality of said apartments so that operations in connection with the kitchens and toilets of more than one apartment can be carried out from a single utilities shaft at a corridor outside of the apartments.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said slabs are shaped to accommodate stairwells and elevator shafts and wherein said interior panels define corridors giving access to the stairwells and elevator shafts as well as to living quarters defined by the interior and exterior panels, said slabs having an elongated configuration and being provided with opposed end regions, said stairwells being situated at said opposed end regions while said elevator shafts are located at intermediate portions of said slabs between said opposed end regions thereof.

3. The combination of claim I and wherein said disposable portion includes prefabricated kitchen and bathroom units of the plug-in type said panels including at said corridors removable panels situated at and forming part of said utilities shafts so that through said removable panels said utilities shafts are freely accessible at all times.

4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein an electrical supply means extends along and is embedded in each of said slabs at the region of the outer periphery thereof to form a perimetric electrical supply system.

5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said slabs and columns of said non-disposable portion include outer peripheral columns visible at the exterior of the structure, said disposable portion including exterior panels which are situated at least in part behind said outer columns.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein some of said floor slabs have peripheral configurations different from others.

7. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a conduit system is embedded in each of said slabs for supplying electricity to rooms defined by panels of said disposable portion.

8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein said conduits supply electricity to rooms at exterior panels thereof.

9. The combination of claim 1 including an assembly of panels and partitions for defining rooms between floors of the building, said assembly being made up of panels each formed with an endless peripheral groove with panels arranged in a common plane having abutting side edges communicating with each other at vertical portions of said grooves and top and bottom edges forming continuous grooves along the floor and ceiling, and a plastic filler filling said grooves of said panels for forming a unitary structure therefrom.

10. The combination of claim 9 and wherein mutually perpendicular panels also have their peripheral grooves filed with the plastic filler, with the latter filler engaging an outer surface of one of the mutually perpendicular panels.

11. The combination of claim 9 and wherein some of said panels carry at the region of but higher than their lower edges horizontally extending conduits for forming parts of electrical supply lines, so that when the latter panels are situated in a common plane the supply lines can extend continuously through the panels from one to the next.

12. The combination of claim 11 and wherein said panels which carry the electrical supply lines form interior panels.

13. The combination of claim 9 and wherein each panel is composed of an inner plastic sheet and a pair of outer gypsum sheets between which said inner sheet is fixedly sandwiched with said outer sheets extending at their peripheral regions beyond the periphery of said inner sheet to define with the latter the peripheral groove of each panel.

14. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said interior panels are formed with bores through which electrical conductors may extend to provide electricity at rooms defined by said interior panels, and said electrical conductors in said bores of said interior panels being electrically connected with the electrical supply means at said utilities shafts. 

1. In a multistory structure, a non-disposable frame and floor slabs portion, and a disposable partitions and enclosure portion, said non-disposable portion including a series of floor slabs located at different elevations, respectively corresponding to the stories of the structure and also including a plurality of supporting columns carrying said slabs, while said disposable portion includes exterior wall panels forming the exterior of the structure, and interior partition panels defining rooms, said exterior and interior panels being removable and replaceable by other exterior and interior panels which may be situated differently from the removed panels, while said non-disposable portion remains a permanent part of the structure, whereby the appearance and layout of the structure can be changed and the panels can be replaced as required for maintenance purposes, without requiring alteration of the non-disposable portion, a plurality of hollow utilities shafts extending upwardly through said slabs, the rooms which form part of said disposable portion forming on each slab a plurality of apartments including kitchens and toilets grouped adjacent to said utilities shafts, the latter enclosing heat, electrical, and water supply means communicating with said kitchens and toilets for servicing the latter, said interior partition panels defining, in part, elongated corridors at the exterior of the rooms, and said utilities shafts being located directly next to said corridors to be accessible at said corridors for servicing purposes, each utilities shaft communicating with the kitchens and toilets of a plurality of said apartments so that operations in connection with the kitchens and toilets of more than one apartment can be carried out from a single utilities shaft at a corridor outside of the apartments.
 2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said slabs are shaped to accommodate stairwells and elevator shafts and wherein said interior panels define corridors giving access to the stairwells and elevator shafts as well as to living quarters defined by the interior and exterior panels, said slabs having an elongated configuration and being provided with opposed end regions, said stairwells being situated at said opposed end regions while said elevator shafts are located at intermediate portions of said slabs between said opposed end regions thereof.
 3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said disposable portion includes prefabricated kitchen and bathroom units of the plug-in type said panels including at said corridors removable panels situated at and forming part of saiD utilities shafts so that through said removable panels said utilities shafts are freely accessible at all times.
 4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein an electrical supply means extends along and is embedded in each of said slabs at the region of the outer periphery thereof to form a perimetric electrical supply system.
 5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said slabs and columns of said non-disposable portion include outer peripheral columns visible at the exterior of the structure, said disposable portion including exterior panels which are situated at least in part behind said outer columns.
 6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein some of said floor slabs have peripheral configurations different from others.
 7. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a conduit system is embedded in each of said slabs for supplying electricity to rooms defined by panels of said disposable portion.
 8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein said conduits supply electricity to rooms at exterior panels thereof.
 9. The combination of claim 1 including an assembly of panels and partitions for defining rooms between floors of the building, said assembly being made up of panels each formed with an endless peripheral groove with panels arranged in a common plane having abutting side edges communicating with each other at vertical portions of said grooves and top and bottom edges forming continuous grooves along the floor and ceiling, and a plastic filler filling said grooves of said panels for forming a unitary structure therefrom.
 10. The combination of claim 9 and wherein mutually perpendicular panels also have their peripheral grooves filed with the plastic filler, with the latter filler engaging an outer surface of one of the mutually perpendicular panels.
 11. The combination of claim 9 and wherein some of said panels carry at the region of but higher than their lower edges horizontally extending conduits for forming parts of electrical supply lines, so that when the latter panels are situated in a common plane the supply lines can extend continuously through the panels from one to the next.
 12. The combination of claim 11 and wherein said panels which carry the electrical supply lines form interior panels.
 13. The combination of claim 9 and wherein each panel is composed of an inner plastic sheet and a pair of outer gypsum sheets between which said inner sheet is fixedly sandwiched with said outer sheets extending at their peripheral regions beyond the periphery of said inner sheet to define with the latter the peripheral groove of each panel.
 14. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said interior panels are formed with bores through which electrical conductors may extend to provide electricity at rooms defined by said interior panels, and said electrical conductors in said bores of said interior panels being electrically connected with the electrical supply means at said utilities shafts. 